For marathoners, race day is the completion of a months-long journey of training.
So, when world-record holders Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei of Kenya tackle the London Marathon on Sunday (2 a.m. ET, NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold), it will be the end of a most unusual season.
Kipchoge, a normally calm, philosophical speaker, likened the onset of the coronavirus pandemic to “an electric shock” in his training stable.
“It was really difficult for us athletes, especially in Kenya, and maybe Africa in general,” he said Wednesday. “For the last 17 years, personally, I’ve been with the whole team, training with more than six people to 10 to 20 every year, year-round.